Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Wellness Wednesdays: Toxic Beauty

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On my journey to
living a healthier life I have tackled many of the basics. I started with nutrition – eating healthier and
learning more about the sources of foods, pesticides, organics, GMOs, and how it can all
disrupt your body.Next, I tackled the
cleaning products arena.I made my own
laundry detergent and cleaning products that are safer to use.

My next battle is what I put on my skin each
day- makeup, as well as lotions and cleansers.Your skin absorbs much of what is put on it, including any nasty chemicals. I have put this off for quite a while as it is expensive to just trash
your nasty products and replace them with better choices, but also to learn
what is in my favorite beauty products was a scary thought.BUT, the time has come and I am going through them now. ::nervous sigh::Here's a good video to help explain why you should be cautious with your makeup and other beauty product choices.

First I wanted to set
some guidelines for myself so I knew what I was willing to put on my skin for
the rest of my life, therefore making it evident what I was trashing and what
to replace it with.Here are my
guidelines:

This ingredient list
was created by a David Suzuki, a Canadian geneticist and founder of the David
Suzuki foundation. This list contains
many ingredients that cause cancer, reproductive and non-reproductive organ
toxicity, and other health risks.Here is a link to his organization’s guide to the dirty dozen list. You can read more about each of these ingredients in more detail by following that link.

II.Toss
any products that may interfere with my hormones.Since I have a
hormone imbalance already (PCOS), I have to be extra-conscious of any
ingredient that can make it into my body mimicking my natural hormones and
causing things to get even more off track. These are called Endocrine
Disrupters.

III.Rates
a 3 or less on EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics database.This database contains
almost 10,000 personal care product ingredients and shares them on their
website, along with ratings and concerns for each product.Most of my products were listed.

Here are my products
I use regularly and how they rated against my guidelines:

Clinique Line
Smoothing Concealer = ?This product was not in the database.Upon further investigation it has been found
that this product contains nanoparticles.I was not able to obtain a complete list of ingredients and Clinique does not
allow you to request a full list of ingredients anyways. You can only ask them about up
to 4 ingredients per product.A little
sketchy if you ask me.This is my
FAVORITE product as I always have bags and dark circles under my eyes, as well as blemishes
and it has never failed me.I hope I can
find a good replacement.Verdict: TRASH IT!

That's a lot of things to trash! It's a little scary too, knowing that I've been putting this junk on my body since around the age of 16.

Next week I'll talk about some options for replacing all of these things I've trashed. I've compiled a LOOONG list of possible companies, but still need to sort it out and read reviews, ingredient lists, etc. STAY TUNED!!

Written by: Crystal Warren, Representative for Power Up for PCOS which
provides support to women with PCOS through educational Power Up
Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming
PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other
specialized events to raise money for PCOS research. To find our more,
visit http://www.powerupforpcos.com, email info@powerupforpcos.com or by calling 810-545-PCOS (7267)

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

*Please note
that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any
medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal
experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*